Bucks &amp; Oxon


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-irving-gallery-oxford"><a href="https://www.irvinggallery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Irving Gallery</a>, Oxford</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/IrvingGalleryKateShooter.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-171549" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/IrvingGalleryKateShooter.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/IrvingGalleryKateShooter-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/IrvingGalleryKateShooter-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/IrvingGalleryKateShooter-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>From the outside, Vanessa Lacey’s Oxford home looks like any other mid-terrace Victorian house. Step inside, however, and it’s a whole different picture. Vanessa, curator and founder of Irving Gallery, has effectively turned her house into a family-home-slash-art-gallery hybrid. The bay-fronted sitting room has been turned into Gallery One – the sofa had to go – and the dining room is known as Gallery Two. (In this creative scene, the children do their homework at the dining table surrounded by art, but she draws the line at using the kitchen).</p>



<p>The Irving Gallery puts on around half a dozen exhibitions each year, showing the work of emerging and mid-career artists. There’s currently Kate Shooter’s solo show, ‘Your Face or the Moon’, in Gallery One and the hallway (plus sculptures by Lawrence Dicks). Gallery Two is showing ‘Thin Skins’, an exhibition of paintings by Claire Shakespeare and Dominique Garraud, alongside ceramics by Jynsym Ong. Vanessa opens her home on Fridays and alternate Saturdays, plus ad hoc days and appointment-only viewings. It’s all for sale, too – either at the gallery or online through the <a href="https://www.irvinggallery.com/store">website</a> or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/irving.gallery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Insta</a>. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-branch-arts-charlbury"><a href="https://www.branch-arts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Branch Arts</a>, Charlbury</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BranchArts_GothicHouse_ReflectionOnLight.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-171551" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BranchArts_GothicHouse_ReflectionOnLight.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BranchArts_GothicHouse_ReflectionOnLight-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BranchArts_GothicHouse_ReflectionOnLight-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Branch Arts founder Susie Lawson has mastered the art of using private homes to show artworks in their best light. She recently held an exhibition called ‘Reflection on Light’ at Gothic House in the centre of Charlbury. It’s been the home of her two artist parents since 1982 and is filled with paintings, ceramics and handmade furniture, so it was the natural backdrop to celebrate 12 female artists whose work explores the theme of light.</p>



<p>The idea is that staging exhibitions in unconventional or domestic settings, like private homes, studios and gardens, helps buyers picture how they could live with an artwork, and tells the story behind each piece too. As Susie explains, the narrative behind each piece can be told better when the audience connects to a setting.&nbsp;To set the scene, she often collaborates with interior designers, architects and other art studios. She invited interior designer Annabel Stringer to curate an exhibition and is currently working on a collab with interiors queen Nicola Harding.</p>



<p>Coming up, there’ll be a new exhibition at Gothic House next year, and another at a private house in the Cotswolds (the location is hush hush for now). Susie’s also curated shows&nbsp;at&nbsp;Wilcote Studios, set in a private woodland near Chipping Norton, plus several shows in London &#8211; including a recent solo exhibition for artist Anna Boggon in a private home in Shepherd&#8217;s Bush. She’s always looking for more lovely locations to show off artists’ work – so if you have a&nbsp;<em>House &amp; Garden</em>-worth pile and a creative spirit, get in touch.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zephyr-gallery-headington"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/z_e_p_h_y_r_gallery/?locale=en_US%2Cen_GB&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zephyr Gallery</a>, Headington</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="849" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/CarolineMacdonal-sitting-room-long-shot--849x1000.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-171547" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/CarolineMacdonal-sitting-room-long-shot--849x1000.jpg 849w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/CarolineMacdonal-sitting-room-long-shot--679x800.jpg 679w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/CarolineMacdonal-sitting-room-long-shot--340x400.jpg 340w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/CarolineMacdonal-sitting-room-long-shot-.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px" /></figure>



<p>Artist and printmaker Caroline Macdonald splits her time between Oxford and London – and her pop-up gallery has a nomadic feel too. Zephyr, a collective of artists Caroline knows from studying at the Royal College of Art and connections she&#8217;s made in Oxford, holds exhibitions at Caroline’s home in Headington, Oxford – and they’re considering further exhibition venues and homes in Oxford and London to exhibit their work too. The Collective are united by an interest in sustainability, time and the natural world.</p>



<p>Nomadic galleries are all about pushing the boundaries of how people perceive art and exploring how some pieces fit better in different spaces. (Unsurprisingly, they find that once people see an artwork installed in their home, they don’t want to let it go!) Caroline first opened her home as part of Oxfordshire Artweeks this year, bringing together eight other artists and makers. Keep an eye on Insta (where you’ll find the Zephyr Gallery’s online profile) for where the Zephyr’s travelling collective pop up next.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-faringdon-collection-buscot-park"><a href="https://buscot-park.com/faringdon-collection" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Faringdon Collection</a>, Buscot Park</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="800" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BuscotPark-800x1000.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-171543" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BuscotPark-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BuscotPark-640x800.jpg 640w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BuscotPark-320x400.jpg 320w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/09/BuscotPark.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<p>Lord Faringdon’s stately seat, Buscot Park in West Oxfordshire, is the gorgeous setting for The Faringdon Collection: the family&#8217;s priceless paintings, drawings and furniture (some of which are display at the family&#8217;s London home at Brompton Square). It includes paintings by Rembrandt, Botticelli, Reynolds, Rubens and Murillo, outstanding pre-Raphaelite works by Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, plus an important furniture collection, including pieces&nbsp;designed by Robert Adam and Regency designer Thomas Hope.</p>



<p>The present Lord Faringdon continues to acquire new works by contemporary artists and is often refreshing his collection. The new addition for 2024 is a collection of seven glass outdoor sculptures by award-winning artists Richard Jackson and Sally Fawkes called&nbsp;<em>Exhale</em>. Okay, you can&#8217;t buy the art and sculpture on display here &#8211; but when you have a quiet moment, head over to Buscot to breathe in one of the most dazzling art displays in the area.</p>


Private view: meet the curators showing art in their homes

You may also like